Huang Yanhong, Lin Yan, Lavin Roberta P, Luo Li, Luo Ming, Leng Shuguang, Mullen Netanya M, Hawley Karen, Gong Xi
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies and UNM Center for the Advancement of Spatial Informatics Research and Education (ASPIRE), University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
Department of Geography, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA; Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) , The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
J Hazard Mater. 2025 Jul 15;492:138241. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138241. Epub 2025 Apr 10.
Hearing loss in newborns is a prevalent issue that can hinder the growth of language skills and cognitive development. Given that hearing loss often co-occurs with other adverse birth outcomes and the recognized role of metals in causing such outcomes, it is conceivable that metals may also serve as a risk factor of hearing loss. This study examined the associations between maternal residential exposure to thirteen PM-bound metals and failure in Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) in offspring in New Mexico from 2008 to 2017 to ascertain possible implications of these environmental exposures. This retrospective cohort study included 141,406 births (7670 births in disease group and 133,736 births in non-diseased group) in New Mexico during 2008-2017. Thirteen PM-bound metals released from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities were investigated potentially as risk factors. The RSEI model estimated maternal residential exposure to PM-bound metals during pregnancy, and spatial log-binomial regressions, adjusted for confounders, calculated adjusted relative risks (aRRs) for the association with NHS failure. Findings indicated that maternal residential exposure to PM-bound metals - including antimony, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, manganese, mercury, vanadium, and zinc - during pregnancy were positively associated with NHS failure in offspring, showing aRRs ranging from 1.07 to 2.18. A significant trend was observed when exposures were categorized as zero, low, medium, and high of these metals. Our findings indicate that maternal exposure to these PM-bound metals may adversely affect newborn hearing, underscoring air pollution as a modifiable risk factor for improving hearing health outcomes.
新生儿听力损失是一个普遍存在的问题，会阻碍语言技能的发展和认知发育。鉴于听力损失常与其他不良出生结局同时出现，且金属在导致此类结局中所起的作用已得到认可，因此可以推测金属也可能是听力损失的一个风险因素。本研究调查了2008年至2017年期间，新墨西哥州母亲孕期居住环境中13种与颗粒物结合的金属暴露与后代新生儿听力筛查（NHS）未通过之间的关联，以确定这些环境暴露可能产生的影响。这项回顾性队列研究纳入了2008 - 2017年新墨西哥州的141,406例出生病例（疾病组7670例，非疾病组133,736例）。对美国环境保护局（EPA）有毒物质排放清单（TRI）设施释放的13种与颗粒物结合的金属作为潜在风险因素进行了调查。RSEI模型估算了母亲孕期居住环境中与颗粒物结合的金属暴露情况，并通过调整混杂因素的空间对数二项回归分析，计算了与NHS未通过相关的调整后相对风险（aRRs）。研究结果表明母亲孕期居住环境中暴露于与颗粒物结合的金属，包括锑、钡、铍、铬、钴、锰、汞、钒和锌，与后代NHS未通过呈正相关，aRRs范围为1.07至2.18。当将这些金属的暴露分为零、低、中、高四类时，观察到了显著趋势。我们的研究结果表明母亲暴露于这些与颗粒物结合的金属可能会对新生儿听力产生不利影响，强调空气污染是改善听力健康结局的一个可改变的风险因素。
